Top 5 in Tech: Mystery Nano-Banana AI Model, Yan Makes Editable World Model, Flow Studio Goes Free

VP Land Staff

VP Land is a newsletter & YouTube channel covering the latest updates in creative technology for M&E professionals.

Here's a quick roundup of the most significant developments in media and entertainment technology this week:

🍌 Nano Banana AI Image Model Appears, Experts Suspect New Google Model

A mysterious AI model called Nano Banana has appeared on LMArena, wowing testers with its ability to apply natural language photo edits—like changing a facial expression or adjusting lighting—while preserving character consistency and scene context. Early trials show clean, professional results on the first attempt, sparking speculation that Google may be behind the release. 

🎮 Tencent Launches Yan World Model 

Following Genie 3’s debut, Tencent has introduced Yan, a modular AI system that handles interactive video creation through three parts: Yan-Sim for 1080p/60fps game simulations, Yan-Gen for generating content from text, visuals, and actions, and Yan-Edit for detailed text-based scene edits. Its modular setup allows each component to be improved or replaced independently, making it adaptable for different game genres and world modeling tasks.

🎨 Autodesk Flow Studio Launches Freemium Access, Cuts Lite Plan Price in Half

At SIGGRAPH, Autodesk introduced a free tier and reduced the Lite plan for Flow Studio (formerly Wonder Studio) from $20 to $10, aiming to make its AI-driven 3D animation and VFX tools accessible to more creators. They also introduced a free tier. The software automates tasks like motion capture, camera tracking, and character animation, enabling users to drop CG characters into live-action footage in just a few clicks.

💬 Claude & Gemini Introduce Smarter Conversation Memory

Claude now lets you search and pull details from past chats, so you can seamlessly continue old conversations without rehashing what’s already been discussed. Google Gemini takes a similar approach with a new memory setting that remembers your shared preferences, interests, and important details, enabling future exchanges to feel more natural—like chatting with a partner who’s already up to speed. ChatGPT has had a similar memory function for a while.

🗣 Pika Debuts Rapid Audio-Driven Character Performance

Pika’s new model turns an audio file and a single image into HD video with hyper-real facial expressions in just about 6 seconds—20x faster and cheaper than previous methods. Built for quick, expressive shots without motion capture rigs, it integrates with Pika’s editing tools for stylization or scene changes, marking a step toward full real-time performance capture.

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